Extrema-direita, xeno-populismo e colonialidade: discursos de ódio e colonização do imaginário no presente

Abstract

The expansion of far-right movements constitutes a global phenomenon that has translated into the emergence and strengthening of numerous organizations, parties, and especially into the conquest of power in many countries in Europe, North America, and Latin America. In this article we will try to account for this phenomenon, first by presenting and reflecting on the different theoretical conceptions that have been held about it, namely the different related concepts used by academia, such as populism, fascism, extreme right or authoritarian neoliberalism. On a second level, we will focus our attention on Poland and Portugal. In the case of Poland, for its admittedly populist conjunctural character, ruled since2015 by the Law and Justice Party. In the case of Portugal, for its opposite character, under the management of the Socialist Party, recently reelected with 60% of the votes, but which also experiences the strengthening of extreme right-wing movements. Respecting the sociocultural and historical particularities of each, in both countries these movements are expressed both in civil society and in political society. These experiences reveal counterfaces that, despite their differences, signal approximations with the xeno-populist perspective and can shed light on the understanding of these processes. In the Polish scenario, the adoption of institutional policies and legislation against migrants, LGBTQIA+ and other minorities are notable, as well as growing manifestations of far-right movements, both based on hate speech. On the other hand, the Portuguese context, although governed by an opposite political spectrum, also experiences recent processes of strengthening of the far right. In fact, the far-right "Chega" party won third place in a recent election marked by tensions involving hate speech, xenophobia and nationalist perspectives